Marketing.fm – Eric Friedman

A few weeks ago I connected with Diane Chehab on Twitter who is an official representative for the MTA (NYC subway transit system) who helps customers and answers questions. I was interested to hear more about how the MTA is talking to customers online and using social media so I interviewed her to hear more. As one of the millions who rides the subway each day, I was interested to hear more.

1. What type of Social Media sites do you participate on for the MTA and why?

Our goal is always to provide as many ways as possible for our riders to obtain information about our services and activities. One of the first Social Media “activities” we engaged in was podcasting, on our own website at transittrax.mta.info, in 2006. The news about the NYC Transit podcasts was featured on blogs around the world, in at least 6 languages.
We also set up our MetroCard Promotions as RSS feeds, in 2008. The first social networking site we participated in was Flickr, at the end of 2008, where we post photos of MetroCard Promotions events and wonderful New York City sightseeing photos from all five boroughs (www.flickr.com/photos/nyctransit). On Twitter, which we also started this year, we will be tweeting about MetroCard Promotions, sightseeing in NYC using public transportation, special events we are involved in, as well as some tourism-related articles, transit trivia, links to our podcasts and Flickr, and our sustainability efforts.

For the time being, we have four accounts on Twitter: MetroCardDiane, MetroCardMatt, NYCTChantal, and MetroCardLisa.

2. What have you learned about subway travelers via Twitter?

One thing we learned is that the word “MetroCard” is very frequently used, as it is ubiquitous in NYC residents’ purses, wallets and pockets! It is more personal than money and very much a part of daily life for New Yorkers.
Last year, in June, we had distributed customized MetroCards for the Bronx Zoo, featuring the image of a lemur: six months later, I read a “Tweet” that from someone who had just noticed, or just received, a MetroCard with a lemur image.

3. How has it been “talking back” to New Yorkers from an official MTA standpoint?

As we started tweeting very recently, it is still much of a one-way conversation, but we expect that to evolve. We have mainly concentrated on providing information whenever possible, such as informing a prospective visitor to NYC where he can purchase MetroCard at JFK.

4. I noticed the MTA now has a trip planner and stated times for the trains – any chance this information will be coming to people on the platforms anytime soon?

The L train already sports real-time information with what we call PA/CIS (Public Address/Customer Information Screens) on station platforms along the line. Those signs provide riders with anticipated arrival times of trains. The L Line General Manager recently rolled out a Train Locator Console Screen at the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue station. The TLC screen provides riders at the station with a graphical representation where the next expected trains are located in real time. We hope to expand this program to other stations on the L line and possibly to other train lines.
The NYC Transit Trip Planner has been in use on our website and through mobile devices since 2007, and is used by an average of 19,500 people every weekday. While we do not have plans to add a platform component of Trip Planner at this time, it’s something we have given thought to.

5. How are you interacting with technology companies around New York in terms of sharing data, maps, and other relevant information? Thoughts on hopstop.com?

We provide information to a variety of online and offline organizations, including HopStop.com, with the goal of getting as much information as possible into our customers’ hands. HopStop.com is one among many online and offline services that repackage our information to communicate with the public.

6. What do you hope to bring to MTA riders in the coming months?

We hope to start blogging about the different subway lines, and plan to start with the L. We will also offer more RSS options.

7. What do you think of unofficial initiatives like (http://twitter.com/nyc_mta)

This initiative is not an MTA-hosted effort. We recognize that the information could be mistaken as being provided by us, especially given the name. However, NYC_MTA has posted a disclaimer that the account is “unofficial.”

8. What is the latest news on the 2nd Avenue Subway Line?

Construction of Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway continues to progress. Before tunneling can begin, the site where the tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be assembled and launched is being prepared. At this site, between 91st and 95th Streets, traffic has been shifted to the west side of Second Avenue and the support of excavation work that was recently completed on the west side of Second Avenue is now taking place on the east side of the avenue.
Preparatory work for the excavation of the tunnel shafts at 69th Street and 72nd Street is also underway. Traffic has been shifted to the west side of Second Avenue between 69th and 73rd Streets to allow for excavation and relocation of utilities on the east side of the avenue.
Additional project information and construction updates can be found on the MTA’s website at www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/index.html.

Thanks Diane for taking the time to answer these questions.

I think it is great to continue an open dialogue with customers. Obviously this article does not mean much to those people who do not ride the NYC subway, but as millions of people commute I think they can appreciate the open conversations that are happening with transit systems.

It is clear that riders will become more empowered with data and communications with their commute – and continue directly talking with companies, utilities, and brands online.